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About 500 floor mats stuffed with papers with Quranic verses on them were seized by Malacca’s Islamic Religious Department yesterday. KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — Malacca’s Islamic Religious Department (Jaim) had seized about 500 floor mats stuffed with papers with Quranic verses on them, following a raid at a warehouse in Krubong, in Central Malacca with the Home Ministry and police yesterday.

Malay daily Sinar Harian reported Jaim enforcement chief Rahimin Bani saying the floor mats, recently imported from Indonesia, were supplied to several premises in the state and neighbouring Johor.

“The warehouse is owned by a company who distributes home appliances including floor mats that were obtained from Semarang, Indonesia and it has been supplied to several premises including supermarkets in this state and Johor,” he was quoted saying in a press conference.

He said the company had given full cooperation to authorities and they even separated the floor mats during the inspection.

Malay daily Kosmo! Reported that the papers were printed with Quranic verses, Prophet Muhammad’s sayings, and prayers ― believed to be from used Indonesian school textbooks.

The mats were sold between RM1.80 to RM2 each, it said.

In a statement on its official Facebook page, the Eco Shop Sdn Bhd which runs the chain Eco Shop Malaysia, has apologised for the incident and clarified that the company will not be investigated by authorities.

“Deluxeware Trading clarifies that the floor mat with Quran sheet was originally supplied by their supplier at Indonesia ― CV Putra Abadi. The company has undergone a thorough investigation with Jabatan Agama Islam Melaka and will take all necessary actions on the supplier,” it said.

The chain will also offer product exchange with consumers who wish to return the mats.

Meanwhile in Terengganu, the state’s Islamic Affairs Department also had opened an investigation paper to identify perpetrators of floor mats with Quranic verses after the issue went viral on social media.

This comes after a buyer, who purchased the RM2 floor mat at a supermarket in Dungun, complained to the department, JHEAT commissioner Datuk Wan Mohd Wan Ibrahim said.

“We have conducted an investigation and found printed papers containing Quranic verses have been used by irresponsible quarters to make the floor mats thicker than the others,” he told reporters yesterday.

He said action will be taken under the Section 9 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) (Terengganu) Enactment 2001.

The issue went viral on social media in the past few days, leading to several outraged consumers who tore their doormats bought at the store and posting their experiences online.